Syracuse, N.Y. – Just a couple of hours before his first college start, Kiyan Anthony was napping on the floor of the Syracuse locker room.
“Man, we were up early,’’ Anthony said. “We had breakfast at 8:00 a.m. today. So, it was a long morning. We didn’t have time to go home. So I just kind of made my bed on the floor. I put my jacket on the floor and just fell out for like an hour.
“And then, once I woke back up, got back to my routine and it was good.’’
Very good, in fact.
Anthony woke up in time to score 19 points in Syracuse’s 83-43 demolition of Delaware State at the JMA Wireless Dome on Saturday.
Syracuse coach Adrian Autry had told Anthony that he would get the starting assignment before the players boarded the buses to the Dome. It wasn’t followed by a Vince Lombardi speech or a Jim Valvano-inspired pep talk.
“He’s starting,’’ Autry said. “That’s it.’’
In truth, Autry didn’t need to tell Anthony anything. He was already prepared to start in place of JJ Starling, Syracuse’s senior guard who suffered an apparent hamstring injury in the Orange’s season-opening win over Binghamton on Monday.
Anthony had stepped into Starling’s role during the Orange’s 85-47 win over the Bearcats.
“He just confirmed it,’’ Anthony said of Autry. “He told me who I was guarding (and) what to look for.’’
The Syracuse fans in attendance on Saturday seemed to have more excitement over Anthony’s first career start than Anthony did himself. He drew the loudest ovation during the team’s pre-game introductions.
The starting assignment changed Anthony’s usual routine. Normally, a few minutes into the game, he will try to warm up by getting on the stationary bike at the end of the SU bench and watches the action on the court.
“As a starter, you got to set the tone for the game,’’ Anthony said. “I feel like, not just myself, but all the other guys that were out there with me today, I feel like we did a good job of setting the tone. And once the guys came in off the bench, um, they just kept it there.’’
Anthony scored his first bucket on a transition layup less than four minutes into the game. A few minutes later, he showed off his ability to get to the basket on a driving shot. He drilled a 3-pointer while getting fouled to give the Orange a 30-11 lead.
For the game, Anthony shot an efficient 8-for-11 from the field, making two of his four 3-point attempts.
“Man, bright future, bright future,’’ Delaware State coach Stan Waterman said of Anthony. “Obviously talented. Very, very talented. Makes his shots on the perimeter. He can put it on the deck.
“Every time I see him, it looks like he’s getting better and better,’’ Waterman added. “I would say that’s the perspective is that he’s going to continue to get better. He’s special.’’
Anthony came to Syracuse labeled a scorer. Autry has consistently insisted that Anthony can be more than that.
Anthony provided a glimpse of his growing all-around skills on Saturday. In addition to his 19 points, he also had four assists with zero turnovers to go along with three rebounds and a steal.
“He’s a basketball player first and foremost,’’ Autry said. “That’s what I really want to say. People keep saying it, and I know he said it too, I’m a scorer, but he’s a really good basketball player.’’
The only thing missing from Anthony’s debut were his parents. Either Carmelo or La La had been in attendance at both of SU’s exhibitions and the regular season game against Binghamton.
Anthony’s father was originally planning on being there on Saturday, but work got in the way preventing the Syracuse legend from watching in person as his son got his first college start.
Anthony said he heard from his dad immediately after the game.
“I spoke to him,’’ Anthony said. “He’s on a plane right now for some work stuff. I’m going to call him when I leave here to speak more. He just congratulated me and told me, you know, keep going. That’s what he wants.’’
